‘Doucoure is better than any midfield player Arsenal have got in their team’

Tim Sherwood believes that Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure would walk into the Arsenal side and that the Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger would love to have him.

Speaking in the Sky Sports studio, the former Spurs manager, who is actually an Arsenal fan, said, “They’ve got players that Arsenal fans would like in their team and probably Arsene [Wenger] would like too.

“Doucoure is better than any midfield player Arsenal have got in their team. He’s a good player, he goes up and down, he’s got great energy, an eye for a goal, can hit things with both feet, he’s a typical Premier League footballer, willing to get stuck in, win the ball, he’s brave, he’s got everything.

“They [Watford] are a selling club, they know what they are, the fans know what they are, they’re out for a ride in the Premier League and they’re having a good ride.”

The 25-year-old is having a great season with Watford, despite their poor form as a team. Playing in central midfield, he has seven goals and three assists in 31 league appearances.

Against Arsenal on Sunday only former Spurs midfielder, Etienne Capoue (94.6%), had a better passing accuracy (93.5%) for Watford, although he saw less of the ball.

In general, however, Doucoure had a less effective game against the Gunners than he has been used to this season. He averages 2.2 tackles per Premier League game, for instance, but didn’t manage a single one at Ashburton Grove.

Only a few weeks ago Doucoure caused a little bit of a stir by saying he’d prefer a move to Arsenal over Spurs.

Doucoure appeared on French talk show, Telefoot, and revealed the three big-six clubs have all shown an interest in him.

When asked which of Arsenal or Spurs he prefers, the Watford midfielder answered, “Arsenal, because of Arsene Wenger.”

Despite their poor form as a team, the 25-year-old is having a great season with Watford. Playing in central midfield, he has seven goals and three assists in 26 league appearances.

Many of those goal contributions have come against some of the top teams in the country. He scored against Liverpool and Manchester United, and both scored and assisted two in his matches against Chelsea.